


Bound together

by TheTacoTurtle



Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ...Kinda, ...if you squint, Adopted Children, Adoption, Arranged Marriage, Crippled OC, Dead queen, Disabled OC, Evil Uncle, F/F, F/M, Kinda Shojo tbh, Kingdoms, Multi, Romance, Suspense, Ōoku inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:47:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTacoTurtle/pseuds/TheTacoTurtle
Summary: A human kingdom run mostly by women, ravaged by disease and isolated from the other nations, a monster kingdom that is shunned and disregarded by most humans. It's a lonely world for them, but the two nations come to find companionship with one another. The two nations enjoy growing relations with one another and a peaceful alliance is met.Of course, alliances need to be sealed.





	1. Growing up fast

**Author's Note:**

> Hi-low! Came up with this idea while I was writing up ideas for a different fic that I'm now abandoning to focus on this one.
> 
> The first chapter's mostly just to show the main characters growing up and then switch over to focus some on other characters as well, though it'll mostly focus on romantic plot as well as a bit of a suspense plot.
> 
> **IMPORTANT!**
> 
> The monster kingdom has houses that correspond to the locations in the game and the houses each have a family name, they are;
> 
> Bont (bone+font) who rule over Snowdin  
> Scarriors (scale+warriors)(could actually be scar+warrior as well, now that I think about it) who rule Springtown  
> Dinook (dino+book)who rule over Hotland  
> and of course the Dreemurs who rule over them all and live in the capital
> 
> Some of the characters are swapped with Underfell characters to make things more interesting while sometimes both versions appear and are simply related to one another.
> 
> Welp, I hope you enjoy it and tell me what you think and what needs to be improved.

The stony castle was warm, which included the decor with the colors of violets, oranges and yellows spread across on silky fabrics and painted details on the walls, and with detailed carvings on any surface that was wooden, but it was also warm because of the kind king and the pregnant queen of monsters who sat on their throne, smiling down at their guests.

As warm as all this was, it didn't do much to comfort the small 7-year-old human child hiding behind her noticeably pregnant mother, a queen herself of the kingdom of Vespia, a small isolated country run mostly by women after hundreds of years of a recurring plague that effected only the men. This very plague was one of the reasons they were here, the kingdom needed an ally that they could trust and monsters, who were often treated badly by most humans, were grateful for the friendship. But friendships needed to be solidified.

While the royals talked, the child noticed one of the side doors opening and out of it stepped a towering skeleton man and a small, somehow chubby skeleton boy. The human queen smiled. "Hello Wings Dings, you're certainly looking just as dashing as the last time I saw you." Wing Dings flushed and coughed as the monster king and queen laughed at his predicament. "Y-yes, and you're looking as l-lovely as ever Queen Hadrea... King Asgore, Queen Toriel, can you please stop laughing now?" They didn't.

The human turned from the adults to look at the skeleton boy, only to find him observing her as well. He stuck his blue tongue out at her in a lazy and bored manner, which made her clutch tighter to her mother and pout. 'Is he making fun of me?' Hadrea noticed her daughter pulling on her dress, so she placed her hand behind the child's back and pushed her forward. "Don't be shy, say hello." Wing dings did the same with his son, "come on now, be nice." The two stepped closer, only a couple of feet away and simply stared at each. Hadrea kneeled to their level as W.D. did the same. "Sophia, this is Sans, your fiance." "Sans, this is Sophia, your future wife."  
The two said nothing as they continued to blankly stare at one another, their parents waiting anxiously for one of them to say something while the king, queen and others watched in interest until finally, "i don't wanna marry her, she looks weird." Sophia pouted and stomped her foot. "Well I don't want such a dumb monster for my husband!" The two glared at each other as their parents dragged them back behind them and scolded their children. Asgore chuckled at the antics of the two, "So much for a first meeting!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two years later Wings Dings, Sans and his younger brother Papyrus came to visit Vespia, staying in the small but beautifully green and ornate palace of the royal family, a structure of wood and marble with spiraling columns that held it up and sat right next to the sea. Sophia's mother and father were currently in one of the private meeting rooms with W.D. while Sophia, her four sisters and her toddler brother stayed with the skeleton brothers out in the courtyard garden... or at least tried to but Lydia and Orva, the two oldest decided to practice their sword training while Sophia's younger sister Daphne and Sans's brother Papyrus cheered them on, and Alphonse had to be taken back inside by a caretaker when he fell and started crying, leaving the disinterested Sophia to walk around alone, nose in her book and Sans no where to be seen.

Not watching her surroundings, said skeleton stuck his foot out from behind some of the bushes she was walking right next to and made her trip. "heh, see ya next _fall_." The girl staggered to get up and tried throwing her book at him, but he merely dodged. "Leave me alone, I hate you!" Sans chuckled as his eyelights went out. "hey, i'm just repaying the favor from last time." She straightened up, looking down at her nose at him. "For what, yesterday when you were _supposed_ to be studying? It's not my fault you were skipping out!" Sans stuck his tongue out, "yeah, but you didn't have to tell my dad, i just wanted to relax."

"Relax? You're second in line to the throne and the first to become Lord over Snowdin, you should be studying for that! Ugh, you're so irresponsible!" He rolled his eyelights at her and shrugged, "thanks mom. i don't want to study being a ruler, stars are way more interesting anyway." She placed her hands on her hips and huffed, "it's you duty! Ugh, why did our parents have to set us up?" Sans nodded in agreement to that, "i agree, humans make me _jump outta my skin_ with fright." He gave her a shit-eating grin when she groaned. "you're not funny." He shrugged and flicked a leaf off his shirt. "eh, you just don't have a funny bone."

Sophia scoffed at that, "all you ever do is joke or laze around, I simply can't stand such lazy, irresponsible people." He posed the way she did, head held high, looking down his non-existent nose with his hands on his hips and mockingly matched the tone of her voice. "and i simply can't stand such snotty annoying brats who can't take a joke. oh what rubbish!"  
"Irr-e-spon-si-ble!"  
"a-nnoy-ing."

He smirked at her. Knowing she'd never get anywhere with him, she plucked up her book and shoved past him, heading for a secluded spot that was hidden behind an out of the way stair case that she'd hoped Sans wouldn't discover, it had a tall pear tree that she could climb up and relax in, being able to get a pretty good view of the ocean as a bonus. It did seem he hadn't found the spot, or at the very least ignored it because she didn't see him until dinnertime. Later they were scolded by Papyrus and Orva when one of the guards who had seen the exchange told them about the event, though Lydia just kept laughing and saying they were already an old couple, and Sans, who was older, was barely over 13. Their parents however, were not as amused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three years later, Sophia had to stay with the Bonts with her sister Orva for about a month. It was two days before a monster festival that was being held in Springtown, that celebrated the coming spring, even though the seasons never really changed much in monster territories.  
The castle they stayed in was cold and gray, though it did have paintings and banners that brightened it up some, with narrow long halls that never seemed to end. Sophie clutched at her study book as she nervously looked around for her sister and the visiting Undyne who was going to travel with them back to her home. The two hit it off instantly as they both had boisterous personalities and a deep love for knighthood.

She looked out at one of the sporadically appearing windows that overlooked the courtyard, it was sunny out which was good for the few pine trees and the bush maze that lay out past the window she viewed them from, a blanket of snow covering the ground and monster statues. The sight calmed her nerves a little bit for all but a few seconds before she immediately tensed back up when a nearby door flew open and banged against the wall.

A monster that looked identical to W.D. but with angrier cracks in his skull, arms that weren't attached to his body and a much more vicious appearance stepped out. His eyes immediately locked on her and he sneered, obviously disgusted with the human being there. It dawned on her that Wing Dings has a brother, she'd just never encountered him or his children over her many visits here before. 'uh... uh... what was his name? Oh right,' "H-hello s-sir Gaster." She nervously curtsied to him, hoping she didn't offend him. 'Way too scary, setting off too many alarm bells.' It seemed to do the trick as he relaxed somewhat, which is to say he now only seemed to want to cut only her head off and not every single body part she had piece by slow piece. He turned his back into the room he just came out of and barked something to someone in a language she didn't understand, then stormed past her.

She was too busy watching his back disappear to notice two new skeletons appear right behind her. "FILTHY HUMAN, STEP ASIDE! YOU'RE BLOCKING THE PATH!" Sophia jumped startled and whipped back around, straightening herself and glaring at the both of them. One appearing to look like Sans but much more brute and slightly bigger and the other like Papyrus if he'd worked for demons. The taller one, who'd been glaring daggers at her as well, widened his eyesockets and blushed black when he saw her face, his jaw kept opening and closing, trying to form words.  
The smaller one however, was sizing her up. "Apologize," the smaller one howled with laughter at that, clutching his sides. The taller one didn't really react and just kept staring. 'Creepy.' But she kept her head high. "Apologize and I will move." The smaller one stopped at that, he grabbed her shoulder with his gloved hand and glowered down at her. "you got some nerve trying to tell us what to do, _human_." Sophia gulped, but held her ground as she tried to continue to put on a brave face. The other skeleton, who had been forgotten about, suddenly grabbed her hands and held them, making her look at him. "HUMAN, YOU, YOU WILL J-JOIN ME ON A WALK." She nearly fell over at that had to right herself again, his brother did the same. "I- what?" The skeleton in front of her looked a little impatient and continued to fret. "I SAID-" 

"RED. BLACK. Come here now." All three of them jumped at the sound of Gaster's booming, angry voice. Red and Black, which Sophia guessed were his sons, dashed over to him in a frightened hurry. Before leaving, Gaster gave her one last nasty look before leaving, Red gave her a look of suspicion before joining him and Black a strange one Sophia couldn't quite place before also leaving. Sophia felt her shoulders slump as she sighed, relieved at their absence.

"woah, you should be careful around my uncle." She squeaked and turned around to find Sans leaning against the wall. "How long have you been there?" He shrugged. "just got here, heard him yelling so i thought i'd come to see what was going on." Sans was being surprisingly nice to her for once. "red and black are okay though, well, for the most part." Did she want to know what that meant? She shook her head, "I'll keep that in mind then, th-thank you for the warning." He seemed shocked by the sudden civility she showed him but shrugged it off. "no problem i guess, just keep your nose clean for the both of us, 'cause if you hadn't noticed it's kinda hard for me to do." He winked and pointed to his lack of a nose. 'Of course he couldn't go one minute without making a joke.' She gave him a look of annoyance, which he was used to receiving from her by now. "I'll ignore that and just simply ask you, have you seen my sister anywhere? I'm lost."

He got a mischievous look in his eyes at that, "welp, if you apologize for not laughing at my terrific humor i might." She could practically feel herself deflate. "Ugh, really? Fine, I'm sorry I didn't laugh at your asinine joke." He struck a pose like he was in deep thought, "mmm... good, but it could be better. tell me my jokes are the best and i'll help." Sophia put a hand to her mouth and faked a gasp. "Why, are you trying to make a lady lie?" Sans burst out laughing at that, "lady? you think way too highly of yourself, plus you haven't even sprouted those human chest mountains yet." She whapped him over the head for that, fighting off her rising blush. "Just help me find my way you perverted cretin." He continued chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head. "alright, alright it's this way to where you want to go."  
He watched her go ahead of him before looking back in the direction Gaster went and frowned then followed after her. It wasn't until later that Sans decided that now that she had met Red, he'd team up with him to pull pranks on his fiance for the rest of her stay. Black meanwhile kept trying to get her to go on a date with him until she finally shot him down, stating she was betrothed to Sans, which made him think he now had to fight Sans to "WIN HER HEART", as he so elegantly put it, which at least distracted Sans some from his constant pranking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two years later the Bonts had just arrived in Vespia again, they left their boat and went onto the docks. It was the early afternoon so it was rather busy. Papyrus waved at all the friendly humans who greeted them, it seemed that the people of this nation felt just as lonely as monsters did so they always welcomed them each time they arrived. He went to greet some of the sailors he knew while W.D. talked with the ship's captain, but stumbled on an apparently heavy conversation. The sailors didn't notice him yet so he strained to listen.  
"-an assassination attempt, so she's still recovering."  
"Wot, really? I'd-a thunk-"  
"-said it was permanent."  
He finally reached them and smiled, "GREETINGS FRIENDS! WHY ARE YOU SO SAD? DID SOMETHING HAPPEN? WHAT CAN THE GREAT PAPYRUS DO TO HELP?" The sailors greeted him back, though much less enthusiastically, "Oh uh, hey yer young lordship," the woman gulped, "We were jus' talkin' about... er..." She looked to her companions for help and one of the men decided to spare her. "It's, uh... it's 'bout Princess Sophia..."

Wing Dings had just finished up thanking the captain as usual and informed him of when they were going to leave, when he noticed Sans had fallen asleep standing up. He sighed and prepared to scold him once again, "DAAAAAAD!!!!! SAAAAANNNNS!!!!" The sudden outburst caused the two to jump, Papyrus came wailing to them, streams of tears in his eyes. "M-MISS SOPHIA WAS JUST ATTACKED!" The other two skeleton's eyes widened. W.D. grabbed his son, "what? Is she still alive?" Papyrus nodded and tried to tell them more, but couldn't stop chocking on his tears. "It's alright my son, please calm down and then you can tell us more." It took a few minutes, but he managed to do so. They sat down over by a bench and waited until Papyrus could speak.  
"I-I WAS TA-LKING TO MY SAILOR FRIENDS, AND THEY SAID- THEY SAID THAT HER LEGS WERE BADLY DAMAGED AND SHE MIGHT NOT EVER WALK AGAIN."  
W.D. nodded, "and I'm assuming that this just happened?"  
"YE-YES, A FEW DAYS AGO THEY SAID." W.D. patted his son on his shoulder and got up, "right, then let's hurry to the palace." The two brothers followed their father quietly and with sullen looks on their faces.

They arrived two days later to a heavily guarded palace and immediately went to see Sophia in her room. The three monsters felt out of breath as they reached her door, when they opened it they found Lydia, Alphonse and the youngest child, the 5 year old princess Robin spread across the room keeping her company, and Sophia herself sat on her bed covered in bandages, looking out of a large window where she could see the city. Though the other siblings greeted them, she didn't respond, even when they tried to talk to her. Sans had never seen her so broken before, she'd always wanted to be as strong a leader as she could be so it must have been hard for her to accept the possibility of a permanent weakness that she couldn't control.

They stayed there awhile until they all started to leave, one-by-one, all except for Sans. Sure, Papyrus wanted to stay as well, but their father insisted that they be left alone. It was no secret that the two who were supposed to be wed couldn't stand each other, but that certainly didn't mean that they wanted the other hurt. Sans finally spoke up, "i'm surprised you aren't yelling at your legs, demanding they stop being lazy and do their job." She gave him a half-hearted glare in response. "I'm going to walk again." She stated plainly, as if it were a fact. He sighed, "yeah, sure. of course you can." She lifted herself up a little.

"I'm going to walk again." She repeated. Sans closed his eyes, he honestly didn't know how to comfort her. "Stop that." He opened one eye socket to look at her. "I won't let anyone pity me, I won't allow anyone to look down on me." He stayed silent as he simply watched her, but this seemed to only infuriate her further. She suddenly moved to get off the bed, causing Sans to panic and try and catch her before she fell. She pushed his hand away and tried standing on her feet, only to nearly fall down until Sans used his magic to grab her. She glared at him again. "Stop that, I'm not weak." Sans shook his head and stood his ground, "i'm not letting the crazy, injured human hurt herself even more."

Her face softened a little at his words, but she still wouldn't give up. "...Please..." she whispered almost desperately. They stayed staring at each other for a minute before he finally relented. She plummeted to her knees, but managed to push herself up using her nightstand. After a bit of struggling and nearly falling over a few times, she managed to more or less stand on her feet, though it was obvious she was in immense pain and blood started to seep through her bandages. Sans had to hold himself back several times, but let her do as she pleased. Finally, her legs gave out again and he used his magic once more, "congratulations, you proved that you're an idiot. wanna try doing some jumping jacks next?" He mocked her as he set her down. He started to leave to get someone to help when he heard a sob.

He couldn't stop himself from staring at her, completely shocked. She NEVER cried in all the years he'd known her. "...They were *sniff* they were after my Mom." He walked a little closer, "and I got injured trying to protect her... This isn't the first time it's happened, you know." He sat down on the bed and when she looked up, he motioned for her to continue. "My sisters and even my 7 year old brother have managed to defend themselves and protect our parents, but I can barely hold a sword..." She wiped her tears, "I'm not even the smartest, even with all my studying, Lydia's always been better and Alphonse is already surpassing me from when I was his age." She curled in on herself, "and now I can't even walk, I'm useless."

Sans started to reach out to comfort her, but held himself back. "you're a lot of things, annoying, a killjoy and kinda snobby, but I know you're definitely not stupid or useless." She peeked up at him, surprised that he was saying these hings to her. "Then... why can't I do anything right?" He scratched his head, "dunno what you mean by that, you're the one who's always got her nose in some book, you study the human and monster laws and read up about all kinds of weird things like agriculture, new inventions and whatever." She gaped at him. "Agriculture and inventions are not 'weird', a leader needs to know how to run their country so knowing the trades and what progress is being made in technology are prudent." She looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

Sans started laughing at her so hard he fell off the bed, "hahaha! y-you're, heh, tr-tryin' to say thahaha-that you're not *snort* smart and then you, hahaha, go off o-on me, heh, like that?" She couldn't help but smile at him as she realized that she did, indeed, start scolding him for not knowing something right after saying she was stupid. She still felt useless and stupid, but his words and laughter did brighten up her dreary mood some.  
When he finally calmed down and sat his elbows on the bed to lift his upper half up so he could lean on the mattress, he stuck his tongue out at her, "you, my _lady_ , are a liar." The two burst out laughing again, it eventually died down again though. "You know, there's a game of chess on top of that dresser there." She pointed to it, "I've been kind of bored, so it'd be nice to have a distraction. Though I doubt you'll pose much of a challenge." Sans smirked at her, readily accepting her challenge and already pulling the game down using his magic. "heh, well see about that." 

A few months later, all but her left leg had healed fully and she had to walk with a cane, she'd never be able to use that leg ever again, but her even being able to walk again at all had felt like a miracle to everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two years later, both nations had fallen into a depressed state of mourning. Queen Hadrea, who worked more than anyone else to strengthen the bonds of the two nations, died giving birth to her final child, a son named Stephon. The king and queen of monsters and all the houses of the monster kingdom came to the funeral to pay their final respects. Even in her death, she wanted a mixture of human funeral practices, a congregation in a church and burial, and a monster one where she'd burned her body to ashes before the burial and everyone was to embrace and give gifts someone or several someones they did not know.

The palace was filled with guests and the royal family kept themselves busy throughout their stay. Both sets of skeleton brothers didn't get to see them much at first since they never got much of a chance to talk to anyone, but the king and several royal houses had to return to the monster kingdom as they couldn't stay away for very long. W.D. left as well, but let his sons stay for a little longer with their cousins and uncle. Red and Black had never been to Vespia before, so they were fascinated by the country and went out to explore the capitol city. Sans and Papyrus however, only wanted to talk to their friends, most especially Sophia since they hadn't seen her at all.

On the fifth day of their stay, Papyrus had been wandering around the palace, looking for any signs of his future sister-in-law. He headed into one room after another before finally deciding to take a break in the courtyard. He sat on some out of the way steps and huffed, looking up at the cloudy sky and lost himself in thought. As of late, he'd started thinking more about his brother's fiance... and it troubled him. He started to feel warm and weak in the knees at the very thought of her, which he realized was a sign of love... but he also knew he shouldn't be having any thoughts like that towards the girl his brother was going to get married to... but he couldn't help it!

Ever since her injury she became determined to walk again, and once Papyrus started noticing just how much she was able to push herself, not in the way he, Undyne or Orva pushed themselves for their own glory, but out of a sense of duty... he started to see her in a new light. He watched as she grew stronger, and at first he'd only done so because he was impressed, but as he watched her more and more... he started noticing little things that had he had a heart, it would start pounding.

Papyrus put his skull in his hands and groaned, how did he manage to get himself into this mess?  
"Papyrus?"  
He jolted and looked up with a flushed face to find the very girl he was just thinking about sitting high atop a pear tree, papers in her hands that she had been writing in. "S-SOPHIA!" after snapping out of his shocked state, he immediately went into panic mode. "OH NO, SOME MISCREANT MUST HAVE KIDNAPPED YOU AND PLACED YOU IN A TREE SO YOU WOULDN'T ESCAPE!" She covered her mouth to hide her snort, "no, no, I put myself here so I could get some work done." He blinked at that, "BUT WHY A TREE? AND HOW?" She went back to her writing, but replied, "I've been climbing this tree since I was little, I know exactly how to climb it without using my... *ahem* my left leg." She was still uncomfortable bringing it up. "There's paperwork that my father, the king, has been neglecting ever since my mother's death. He's not as good at it so I've decided to take over doing it for now while he mourns."

Papyrus frowned at this, "BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU? SHOULDN'T YOU ALSO BE LEAKING EYE WATER AND DRIPPING THAT STICKY GROSS STUFF FROM YOUR NOSE?" She tilted her head at his bizarre description of crying. "I've already cried, Papyrus. I can't let my country fall into ruins just because I feel sad." But he didn't accept that, why couldn't the king or one of her sisters do some of the work too? He started to say as such, but realized she'd just continue working regardless. Well, he wouldn't just leave her to do boring paperwork all day either. "DO YOU THINK I CAN COME UP THERE? SINCE YOU WON'T STOP I'LL MAKE SURE TO HUG THE SADNESS AWAY INSTEAD, NYEH!" He smiled up at her. She gave him a surprised look, but motioned for him to come up.

He practically leapt to the top of the tree with how quickly and easily he climbed. When he reached her, he realized right then that it might not have been the best idea to sit right next to his crush in a rather romantic spot if he was trying to push down his feelings for her. "Er, pardon me Papyrus, but you look a little... orange. You're not sick are you?" He started sweating profusely. "O-OH? I-I THINK I'M A BIT FRIGHTENED OF HEIGHTS... YES, THAT'S IT! I HAVE A FEAR OF HEIGHTS!" She didn't really buy it, but she shrugged it off anyway. "Alright, then you should head back down." Papyrus vigorously nodded, "YES, I'LL DO JUST THAT!" And hopped right down to the base of the tree, the movement catching the eye of some far away monsters. Papyrus looked back, "YOU SHOULD REALLY GET DOWN FROM THERE AND TAKE A BREAK THOUGH, WHY DON'T I-"

"SO THIS IS WHERE YOU'VE BEEN HIDING!" Sophia shivered at the familiar voice. "Black, I have already told you I'm enga-" "YES, YES, THAT WALKING PILE OF TRASH _THINKS_ HE HAS A CLAIM TO YOU, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE THAT HIS DELUSIONS WILL END. FOR NOW, I DEMAND THAT YOU COME DOWN FROM THAT TREE AND GO ON A WALK WITH M- WAIT, **HOW DID YOU GET UP THERE**?!?!?!" Papyrus gave his cousin a cautious look before answering, "SHE CLIMBED!" Red, who had been silently watching the whole time, chuckled at the simple answer, Black just gave her an awestruck, though slightly concerned look.

"I... AM IMPRESSED, ALSO VERY CONFUSED, BUT MOSTLY IMPRESSED." He gave her a wicked smile, "BUT IT'S TO BE EXPECTED THAT MY SOULMATE WOULD BE CAPABLE DESPITE BEING CRIPPI-" *SMACK* Sophia had plucked off a pear and had thrown it directly at his head. She gave Black a venomous glare that actually frightened him a little bit, though he'd never admit it. "I am the daughter of King Linus and Queen Hadrea and future lady of Snowdin, I am not some weak child for you to pity. You will not disrespect me like that again." Papyrus had to hide a smirk while Black nursed his wound (and pride). Red on the other hand...

His magic wrapped around the human girl and yanked her down, causing all her paper work to fall to the ground. Red brought her right up to his face and flared his eye with magic, " **don't you ever lay a finger like that on my boss again.** " Black stepped in, "RED I'LL PUNISH MY TROUBLESOME SOULMATE LATER, CEASE USING YOUR MAGIC ON HER." Red looked up to his brother nervously, "er, sure boss, here ya go." Moved her right in front of Black and let her go, causing her to almost fall into his awaiting arms while Papyrus made a move to snatch her first... if blue magic hadn't surrounded her and yanked her back to where she'd laid her cane and gently set her down. Everyone turned to the culprit, who had just exited out of one of the doors. "don't know what's going on, but it probably isn't any good."

For once, Sophia was glad to see Sans, though she wouldn't admit that she really did need help right then. "Your cousins decided to say hello." Sans glanced at the scene in front of him. "a _pear_ ently ." Papyrus groaned and the already fuming Black screeched at him. "CEASE YOUR INSISTENT PUN MAKING YOU CAD!" The lazy skeleton merely shrugged but noticed his other cousin trying to hold in a pun as well. Sophia had grabbed her cane and was trying to pick up the papers. Papyrus noticed this and used his own magic to pick them up and place them into a neat pile. "Thank you, Papyrus." He beamed "YOU'RE VERY WELCOME, SOPHIA." He was probably the only one that she could never get mad at for helping her. "I need to take these to the council so that they can look through them, do you think you could help me?"

Papyrus somehow smiled even brighter and took the load from her. Yes, she could never be mad at him. Black huffed and stomped his foot. "YOU SHOULD BE ASKING ME TO DO THAT FOR YOU! AND THEN THANKING ME BY BATHING ME IN KISSES!" Sophia walked over to Sans who watched on in amusement. "I think one of my sisters was looking for you, she should be in the council chambers, so you can walk with us if you wish."

'It's certainly better to have his protection as well from the obsessed skeleton and his troll of a brother than to just rely on Papyrus.' Though she didn't voice it, Sans knew what her thoughts were. "oh, so you're saying she needs my _help_?" She leaned on her cane and gave him an annoyed look. 'I hate this monster so much sometimes.' "Yes, she does." She answered, gritting her teeth. He chuckled, "well, if she's asked so nicely then i guess i'll just have to help her." The three left, leaving one sulking skeleton, and one very amused one.

After the Bonts and the rest of the monsters left, Sophia became far too busy helping the king and her sister Lydia run the nation. The skeletons wouldn't see her for quite a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 years later, the Bonts awaited the arrival of a ship at the misty docks of Springtown. Sophia would be arriving with her sister Daphne who was going to become a guard for queen Toriel as far of the alliance. Sophia had managed to put it off in order to go around Vespia making sure the nation ran smoothly, but she couldn't ignore the contract for very long, she had to marry Sans by the end of the year. She disliked it, but had been prepared for years. At least he wouldn't make the worst husband in the world.

Sans was nervous, they hadn't met face to face in years, only writing to each other from time to time when they had to. He never wanted to be a ruler and he never wanted to get hitched, but he had to. He had to keep an eye on his uncle and the only way to do that was to keep close to him, which he couldn't do if he got thrown out for not agreeing to the marriage pact. He also didn't want Papyrus to have to rule, he was sure his brother couldn't handle it, and if anything went wrong then whatever angry mob that would form would only go after him. He also didn't want his younger brother to have to marry her either, that'd just be cruel. Well, he had to admit she wouldn't make the worst wife in the world.

A boat rose from the mists, bringing Sans out of his thoughts. It was a Vespian ship.


	2. Catching up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Sophia get stuck in a carriage ride

A monster and a human, forced into a carriage by two overly excited skeletons and an equally excited (and also pervy) human that would undoubtedly last hours had nothing to do but stare across at each other as they each tried to think of how to strike up a conversation that wouldn't be the most awkward thing ever. How exactly were you supposed to talk to someone you could never really stand but hadn't seen for years?

Sophia looked out the window in an effort to ignore him, they were in Springtown, headed towards Snowdin. The town was much like she'd remembered before with vibrant colors everywhere, covered by beautiful rugs, lanterns, painted statues, and looming over the town were tall cliffs and waterfalls. The ever rich trade town never ceased to amaze her, it was always her favorite place to go. A cough brought her out of her thoughts.

"so... you look different." Sans had finally grown bored just watching his fiance look out the window for the past few minutes. He'd seen the town plenty already. Sophia glanced at him before looking back out the window. "Yes, that's called aging, _my dear_." He decided to take the cane that she had set by her seat to get her to pay attention to him, was that childish? Yeah, it totally was. "humans change way too fast, you should be _age_ gainst it." Sophia managed to catch the groan that was starting to form and turned to glare at him. "what? we have _time_ to talk," he beamed, and in response she scowled at him as much as she could, it always managed to annoy him when they were kids after all. Sadly, it still never deterred his jokes.  
"careful, don't wanna get wrinkles there." She wanted to groan so badly, only stopping herself so she couldn't give him that satisfaction. Instead she would fight back. He wanted to be an immature nuisance during this trip? Fine then, let the nagging begin. "You have the power to teleport anywhere you want, yet you'd let those poor horses drag us all around? If you were a gentleman you'd have done so already. Such poor manners." She tried her damnedest to not smirk as his smile twitched in annoyance. "as fun as that sounds, teleporting you, my family and your sister along with your mountain of luggage would be impossible. and way too much work, i'd rather be _horsing_ around instead." He gave her a mocking smile, watching closely as she sneered and then quickly wiped it away.

"Of course you do. If you're not horsing around then you're making up stories about your uncle." Sans's eyelights went out, making her worry. Did she go a bit too far? Oh well, it was something that never made sense to her anyway. "you're never going to listen to me, huh? way to be a bitch." Yeah, he was pretty mad, didn't even try bothering to hide his disdain. It was his turn to ignore her as he turned his head to look out the window. Sophia faltered at that, she wanted to remain prideful and not say anything to that but she didn't want to actually hurt him, she just simply could never understand why he'd hate a family member that much she'd thought maybe it was a cultural thing since many goddesses and gods from her religion protected families and placed importance on them. Even if Gaster was a bit off putting, it still managed to baffle her that Sans would think that his uncle was trying to tear his own family apart, even though it seemed to her at least that it was actually Sans himself causing a rift by accusing him like that... but maybe she just didn't know the full story.

Sans meanwhile had sulked, he was trying to calm down before he'd say anything else. Might just make things worse. He'd gotten used to her snarkiness and even thought it could be funny sometimes, but her insistence that he was being paranoid always managed to piss him off. Sure, he got that in her country families _had_ to stick together because of the reoccurring disease that killed off the men, he actually found it very noble and touching that humans could be brought closer in a time of suffering like that, but they were the only culture really like that, as far as he knew. Other human countries were certainly not above betraying each other and even monsters, who were usually pretty peaceful, have from time to time done the same thing. Actually, it probably did happen in Vespia but everyone probably were too oblivious to know what a backstabber even is. Gaster was not like any of Sophia's family members, he was clearly jealous of W.D. and would make sure to get rid of him one way or another. His father was too forgiving to kick him out.

"Sorry," He turned his head to eye his companion, her head lowered slightly, looking at her hands that rested in her lap. "I won't pretend to understand your reason for distrusting your uncle, but I will apologize for making you angry." She lifted her eyes to met his. "It wouldn't do for us to fight on the first day of seeing each other after so many years." Sans sighed at the apology, he was stilled a bit miffed that she didn't understand, but he'd take it. "yeah, i get it. you're probably still stressed from the trip and all the work you've been doing since the great disease hit again. was probably a lot of work huh?" he decided to offer her an out, a change in the conversation.  
Thankful for the diversion, she took his offer, "it was the worst one in quite a while, separating the sick from their family is always the hardest but it's the only thing that can stop any spreading, and managing all the distribution of land for the descendants and having to send out healers, it takes a little more than just a few days of paperwork, yes."

Despite the morbid nature of the conversation, Sans still gave her a cheeky smile. "good thing my future wife is so hard working, means i don't have to lift a finger." If only she'd had her cane she could whack him over the head for his stupid comment. "feel bad for those families though, can't imagine how you have to deal with that. i'm glad monsters don't get affected by it, but still..." Her features softened a little at that. "It's something I'd never wish on another, hence our isolation." The woman then frowned in thought, "you've been being attacked recently as well because of some of the surrounding human nations, have you been faring well?"

"yeah, it was brutal for a while but this time since we got your army helping us." This was one reason he went along with the marriage pact, monsters were weak and Vespia's army was small, but humans with the aid of monster magic was quite the force to reckon with. No way in hell he'd risk his country just because he didn't love his fiance. "Undyne sounds like she's having a quite a bit of fun training all of the new recruits that get sent over." She couldn't help the amusement in her voice, "they're apparently terrified of her. Orva's the same way with the monster soliders you sent us. Did you hear she made Doggo run laps with a bucket of water on his head?" A surprised belly laugh came from the skeleton man. "seriously?!?! oh man, i can imagine your sister jogging next to him the whole glaring at him so hard even he could see it!" Sophia couldn't help but join in the laugh much to the delight and further amusement of Sans, so he decided to crack her up even more, "you know, i actually saw one of the humans try to tell undyne she wasn't training them right and undyne *snirk* undyne walked right up to the wooden stands they were on and lifted up the whole class! she really _schooled_ them!"  
The two had tears running down their face. The carriage driver, a blue bunny named Stix, knocked to get their attention. Sans opened the sliding peephole to see what he wanted. "Are you alright, Sans and Lady Sophia?" He asked, peering down to see them. He received quizzical looks from the both of them, "huh?" They both said in unison. "Sorry, it's just that I've never heard the two of you laugh so much before. You're usually always at each others throa- er, necks." Despite the slip up, he beamed. "It looks like you two are finally getting along some, it's good to see two lovers laughing together." Sans couldn't shut the sliding door faster as he tried to hid his blush, mumbling about how rabbits have way too good of hearing. Luckily he found he wasn't the only one burning around the cheeks when he turned to look at his companion.

The both of them looked at each other in silent understanding, this was gonna be a looooong trip, wasn't it?


	3. Cabin (castle...?) fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophia wishes to go out about the town and asks W.D. to let her, as soon as she can shake off a pushy skeleton that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I learned a random lesson a few days ago- don't listen to The Who's Tommy album while your out-of-your mind sick right before bed or you'll get really trippy-ass batshit crazy dreams. Your welcome for that nugget of useless information.

"No."

"OUR FATES ARE SEALED TOGETHER, DON'T DENY OUR DESTINY I WILL COOK US ONLY THE MOST SPLENDID MEAL TO COMMEMORATE OUR LOVE!"

"No."

"YOU MUST FEEL SO CONSTRAINED TO NOT BE ABLE TO SHOW YOUR UNDYING PASSION FOR ME, BUT I WILL SOON ENOUGH WIN AGAINST MY RIVAL IN A DUEL, WHEN HE EXCEPTS IT ANYWAY, AND THEN WE CAN CUDDLE AND KISS WHILE VIEWING A SCENIC SUNSET!"

"No."

"GRRRR... GO OUT WITH ME!"

Sophia sighed at the persistent skeleton's pursuits, she'd long ago stopped bothering to inform him that she was engaged to someone else. It had been a couple of days since they arrived at Snowdin castle and she was wanting to get to work looking at the town and get an understanding of how it was doing, if she was going to help govern the town now then she'd need to be informed about the state of it and it's citizens. Wing Dings insisted that she rest up after having to travel so much which she was actually grateful for, but she can't keep lazing around (gods know that her fiance would) for too long. She was itching to get out but she'd probably need to inform the head of the household first, which was where she was headed.  
The brash skeleton at her side continued to try demanding dates as they walked the long gray hallways, Sophia would be lying to herself if she didn't find it somewhat cute and flattering when it wasn't annoying. "...AND I'LL GIVE YOU ALL THE SPARKLIEST JEWELS! AND A GOWN MADE ENTIRELY OF SOLID GOLD! ...THOUGH YOU WOULDN'T REALLY BE ABLE TO MOVE IN IT BUT STILL!" Ah, he was at the part where he tried to bribe her, it's funny that hadn't changed about him. She never wore much jewelry unless she had to, so she really didn't get where he got the idea in his head that he could bribe her with that, and that he thought a golden dress was a good or feasible idea Was kind of amusing though. This eccentric skeleman. Finally they reached the door she'd been heading to before he ambushed her once again to ask for a date. Finally, she turned around to face him and boy did he perk up. 'He's like a moody, angry puppy.'

"My apologizes Black, but I have to speak with Wing Dings now so I will have to see you later." He crossed his arms and huffed, obviously not happy that she rebuked his advances. Again. "OR WE COULD TALK NOW AND PLAN OUR WONDROUS DATE, THAT WAY YOU WON'T FORGET!" He smirked as he caught her dodging. The past few years had made Sophia forget just how perceptive Black could be sometimes. "I won't, right now I need to talk to your uncle." Black leaned closer to her, only a couple of inches away before speaking, trying to look seductive in the process. "IT WILL ONLY TAKE A MINUTE, You can't make time for your soulmate?"  
Resisting the urge to conk him over the head with her cane and not knowing any way to get him to leave her alone, she simply turned the knob of the door and walked in, slamming the door in his face. W.D. looked up from the papers he was working on at his desk to give the intruder a quizzical look when Black decided to voice his displeasure, "YOU! YOU MESMERIZING WITCH, HOW DARE YOU REJECT MY LOVE! COME OUT OR I'LL TEAR DOWN THIS DOOR!" W.D. had to slap a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing while Sophia rolled her eyes as the edgy skele-puppy banged on the door. "Black, please refrain from kicking down my door, I'd like to keep it like it is." W.D. asked with an amused tone in his voice. His nephew abruptly stopped before grumbling and stomping away.  
Sophia breathed a sigh of relief as her soon-to-be father in law chuckled at her misfortune, "did you need something, my dear?" The woman clacked her way over to a chair with a few books on it that sat right next to him. He quickly moved them and sat them on one of the many piles of books that covered the messy, cluttered room. There were plenty of shelves that he'd crammed into the small space but he still somehow managed to fill them all up. How he managed to get it that way was beyond her, but it wasn't like she was much better,just the thought of her work room left her shuddering.

"I apologize for the interruption, but yes." The old monster smiled as she sat down, "you didn't bother me my dear, in fact I'm quite amused by the two of you, it's a welcome distraction from my work." He chuckled more at her unamused look, "so what did you wish to talk to me about?" 

"I'd like to step out and see the town, I've rested plenty and need to know how things are going on in the town." W.D.'s smile fell a little, "of course, I'd forgotten just how eager you always are to get to work. You're of course welcomed to go as you like, but do you mind waiting just a little longer while I get these papers in order? I'd like to join you." After seeing her nod her head he picked his quill pen back up to start writing again, Sophia thought for a moment thought that was her que to leave until he spoke up again. "You know, your mother would also jump at the chance to go walking out with the monsters. Of course, she wasn't too keen of going back to the papers. Sometimes you're just like her, other times the opposite." She scrunched her nose up in confusion, "...thank you?"  
The old skeleman laughed. "It's a compliment, your mother was always so eager to learn about monsters just as you are." Sophia glanced of into the distance thinking about her mother. "So I've heard, my mother never really talked about herself though, when I was able to see her that is." W.D. stilled and looked up from his writing, giving her a nervous smile. "Your mother was quite the busybody. I still have to wonder how she managed to raise seven children, take care of an entire kingdom and make an alliance with us monsters." She glanced back at him, "With a lot of help from said children of course, she certainly wasn't shy about giving us tasks to do growing up."

The skeleman couldn't help but laugh at that, "I'm not surprised, every time she graced us with her presence here in Snowdin she would always hide her paperwork so she could go out to the square or to visit Grillby's or Chillbys, Hadrea would have spells where she couldn't still for a moment." If he had eyes, they would've been glossed over as memories washed over him. Sophia rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. "You and my mother were always so close but you two always seemed too different from one another, yet that never stopped you two from spending so much time together. Sometimes it seemed like you were one mind in two bodies, why is that?"

His hand slowed a bit, his eyesockets briefly widened before he resuming his standard patient smile though it seemed to have lost a bit of warmth, startling Sophia. "Ah, yes, did we seem that close?" Sensing that she must have said something a tad offensive, she felt the need to apologize for whatever forbidden place she'd just treaded. "Sorry," she mumbled be before grabbing her cane and getting up. "I should get my coat, it wouldn't do for me to get a bit of a cold. I'll- I'll see you in a while, I suppose?" He nodded mechanically, allowing Sophia to quickly leave out the door, disliking the tense atmosphere in the room.

When he was finally alone, W.D. let his smile drop and allowed himself to pause in his work for a moment. He put his head in his hands and tiredly sighed.

"Hadrea..."


End file.
